Cybercab Hits the Streets of LA

Tesla’s highly anticipated, driverless Cybercab has moved from the stage to the streets. The vehicle was recently spotted navigating Los Angeles traffic, drawing significant attention for its unconventional, compact proportions Newsweek. Observers noted the vehicle’s remarkably thin profile—likened by some to a "shopping cart"—and confirmed the total absence of traditional side mirrors Newsweek.

This design choice reinforces Elon Musk’s commitment to a camera-only vision system, eschewing the lidar and radar arrays favored by competitors like Waymo and Zoox Newsweek. While the sighting suggests Tesla is moving closer to real-world deployment, the vehicle’s aesthetics have already become a lightning rod for online derision, with viral footage reaching over 253,000 views on TikTok Newsweek.

BYD’s Profit Engine Stalls

For the first time in four years, Chinese EV giant BYD has posted a decline in annual profit. The company reported a 19% drop in net profit to 32.62 billion yuan for 2025, a sharp reversal from its previous trajectory The Wall Street Journal. The downturn was even more pronounced in the fourth quarter, where revenue fell 14% to 237.7 billion yuan The Wall Street Journal.

BYD’s market share in China, once untouchable, slid to 24.6% in Q4, down from 33% a year earlier The Wall Street Journal. This cooling demand in the world's largest EV market serves as a warning shot to the entire sector, including Tesla, as price wars and domestic economic softening begin to bite into margins.

The Robotaxi Arms Race Intensifies

The battle for autonomous dominance is shifting from technology to structure. Chinese rival XPeng has established a standalone robotaxi unit to focus exclusively on fleet operations and driverless ride-hailing services CleanTechnica. This new division will leverage XPeng’s in-house Turing AI chips and targets a commercial rollout by 2026 CleanTechnica.

Simultaneously, Uber is hedging its bets by partnering with Rivian in a $1.25 billion deal to bring autonomous rides to Miami and San Francisco by 2028 Miami Herald. Uber plans to purchase 10,000 autonomous Rivian R2 SUVs, with an option for 40,000 more by 2030 Miami Herald. This move places Uber in direct competition with Waymo, which is currently scaling rapidly, providing 500,000 paid rides every week TechCrunch.

Market Watch

TSLA is currently trading at $363.27, up 0.40% on the day as of noon Eastern. While the stock is holding steady, the broader market is mired in a five-week losing streak, increasing the "burden of proof" for bulls CNBC.

In the semiconductor space, Micron (MU) is seeing a "sell the news" reaction despite exceptional results, with adjusted EPS rising 682% year-over-year TipRanks. Some analysts believe AI-driven DRAM demand is now fully priced in, suggesting the memory bull run may be nearing its peak TipRanks. However, others argue that Alphabet's new algorithms will only drive higher memory chip sales for Micron in the long term Seeking Alpha.